V Rating: VVVVV
Where: South Ekhtiyarieh, 10th Behestan, Pasdaran Street, Tehran, Iran.
When: Lunch and dinner Saturday to Thursday till 9pm
Tel: +98 021 22 55 67 67
Price: Main: 30,000 IRR - 60,000IRR (AUD$4-AUD$8).
Juices and Smoothies: 15,000 IRR (AUD$2)

Veggie Friendly’s intrepid foreign correspondent, Anth from Temporary Dwellings, recently came across a vegetarian haven in Iran.

Ananda Veggie Restaurant and Coffee Shop is run by the Society of Iran’s Vegetarians and is a lovely and peaceful place to escape the traffic and din off Tehran. Tucked away down a small road in the north of Tehran the restaurant has a small outdoor terrace and a comfortable air-conditioned dining room indoors. The restaurant provides a range of pizzas, pasta and lasagna and also has a small offering of Iranian food.

As tourists we decided to stick with the Iranian food and ordered a plate of soy kebabs and vegetable curry with rice. The food arrived promptly and looked delicious. The kebabs were chargrilled and had a great bbq “lamb” flavour. The dish looked great with the kebabs served on sesame and herb flat bread with pickle and rich, roasted tomatoes on the side.

Our other dish was a lovely tomato curry with vegatables and tasty cubes of panir cheese served on some of the best rice I have ever tasted - white grain rice cooked with chopped dill (this is a traditional Iranian dish called “pulau”) and to complete it a slice of deep fried panir on the side.

As an accompaniment we had some green olives (9,000IRR) which were served with grated lemon rind and sweet sultana chutney. Other side dishes include yoghurt. Unfortunately, we were in a bit of a rush and so we couldn’t sit back and enjoy any of the fresh smoothies, juices or deserts that are on the menu.

- Anth, from Temporary Dwellings.

Share This